Forget real estate soap operas. Here’s where you should focus

If you’ve been in real estate long enough, you’ve seen it all: mergers, lawsuits, leadership exits, commission shakeups, firm implosions disguised as “restructuring.” The real estate drama is never-ending, and agents are always watching.

I get it. When big news breaks, it’s like a soap opera for our industry. The text threads light up. Everyone has an opinion. And there’s this little voice in the back of your head wondering, How does this affect me?

But here’s the truth: 99 percent of the time, it doesn’t. Not in the way you think.

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In my 18-plus years in this business, I’ve learned that while agents are fixated on the latest headline, the top producers, the ones quietly stacking seven-figure years, aren’t getting sucked into the noise. They’re focused on their own business plan, their clients and their goals.

Drama is distracting. Strategy is profitable.

The problem with watching the real estate soap opera

Brokerage drama can make you feel informed, like you’re “in the know.” But it can also be a trap.

You start comparing your firm to another. You overanalyze commission splits you saw in a Facebook comment. You speculate on why that top team switched companies. And before you know it, you’ve spent hours talking about the market instead of working in the market.

This industry rewards action, not commentary.

I’ve watched incredible agents stall out because they were so focused on what other people were doing or on what the leadership wasn’t doing that they stopped doing the very things that built their business in the first place.

If you want stability in an unstable industry, you need to get comfortable tuning out the noise and doubling down on the things you can control.

What you should really pay attention to

Let me be clear: I’m not saying you should bury your head in the sand. Pay attention to the market. Pay attention to legal changes that affect your contracts. Pay attention to leadership shifts that might directly impact your resources.

But the real needle-movers? They’re not the headlines. They’re in your daily habits.

Here’s where I tell my agents to focus instead:

1. Your client relationships

Check in, even when you have nothing to sell them. A quick “how’s it going?” text or sending over a relevant article keeps you top-of-mind. Stop relying on market updates alone. Share insight into what the numbers mean for them personally.

2. Your pipeline

Is your next quarter already in motion? Or are you starting from zero every time the calendar flips? Treat your business like a luxury brand launch. Every day should have outreach, follow-up and lead nurturing built in.

3. Your marketing

If your Instagram is full of “Just Listed” posts and nothing that shows your personality, you’re just another agent on a crowded feed. Tell the story of the property and the lifestyle. That’s what sells.

4. Your skill set

The best agents I know are obsessive learners. They read contracts line by line, study negotiation, and learn from industries outside of real estate. Ask yourself: When was the last time you learned something new that made you sharper?

5. Your financials

Know your numbers. How much do you actually keep after expenses? What’s your ROI on marketing spend? Drama doesn’t pay your bills. Clarity on your profit margins does.

The drama will always be there

Here’s a secret: Even the most “stable” firms have behind-the-scenes chaos. You just don’t see it until it spills into the press or an email blast.

The truth is, every brokerage from the shiny startup to the century-old giant is a living, breathing business. Leadership changes. Strategies pivot. Some initiatives fail.

Your job isn’t to try to predict the next twist in the plot. Your job is to build a business so strong that it thrives no matter who’s in the corner office.

Ask yourself the real questions

Whenever real estate drama pops up, you should use it as a self-check moment. Instead of asking, “What’s going to happen to them?” I ask:

• Is my business built on systems or on hope?
• If my brokerage changed leadership tomorrow, would my income take a hit?
• Do I have multiple lead sources, or am I relying too heavily on one?
• Would my clients follow me anywhere, or do they see me as replaceable?

If the answer to any of those makes you uncomfortable, that’s where your focus should go, not into the group chat dissecting someone else’s problems.

Focus is a competitive advantage

In a city like New York, where the competition is fierce and the market moves fast, the ability to stay focused is a superpower.

When other agents are distracted by gossip, you can be the one still hosting the open house, still calling past clients, still creating content, still making deals. That’s how you quietly take market share by showing up when everyone else is busy watching the real estate drama unfold.

The brokerage world will keep giving us headlines. Some will be worth your attention. Most won’t.

Your future isn’t determined by who merged with whom or which leader stepped down. It’s determined by what you do in the hours between those headlines.

You can be the agent who always has an opinion on the latest industry scandal. Or you can be the agent who’s too busy closing deals to notice.

One of those pays a lot better.